New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-03-06
THE OCEAN YACHT RACE.
HOW MICH TINE WILL 1T TAKE TO CROSSE

IN ,be nrnciple. rather CURLY expressed by gau-
blers. that money talks" the number and amounts
of the wagers made on any stated occurrences Oh
soortng natureAve to be regarded rs the surest
indication of the of the interest taken In II by
the general public This rule, however, hardly applies
TO the ocean from Owls Head TO koches Point
the keel rchooners CorOnet and Dauntess Tor
eepstakes of $200O0 for while the strictly be-
ting people-those who are known about town as he.
ing always ready to stake any amount from nickel
IN n tLOus sand dollars more on any thing In which
there ia the element of chance and who apparently
have no other OF livchood-have placed little
money on this contest there is on that nearly
every one reads bis daily paper watches closely tor
new details attending the fitting mp OF the yachts and
has some opinion to the probable outcome OF their
long trim TO the eastward. The gamblers, most of
whom know little nothing about yachts have doubt
less been nonpussed by the variety of expressions OF
erper,s respecting the qualifications of the two racers
and have concluded that where doctors disagree" 1t
is advisable for them to keep their hands OIL VI
course they place great confidence in tut here
aga n they are in quandary. On the one hand thew
find a vessel with a record extending period OF
twenty years and iairly we'll sprnkled with VIC
tories while on the other is boat little more than
wear old in wich have been introduced all the Latest
great de yelopments In naval architecture OF which
the, have heard so much.
at beats the Dutch" calculated ono of the
fraternity TO hear the way these yachting talk
about those boats. One says that the Coronet
carries too much canvas; another says that's the
trouble with the Dauntless. One insists that the
DaLntess IA too much by the head and another that
she's too much by the stern don't know what they
mean, but do know that won't bet cent either
of them for il the alleged experts he believed
9th of them will 20 to the bottom before they're halt
way the pond. Horse-racings good enough Tor
me-"
Much of the betting thus far done has been by
members of the downtow exchanges VINO are aiili-
ated with another of the yacht clubs and who IN
most instances pr'Judiced their choice OF boats
be- their personal relations TO the owners or by some
other than their relative merits. Odds OF hve
to four gwen both ways and neither is decided
fay oriie Most OF those who back the Dauntless TO
n
the schooner but by their confidence in Captain SAM.
uelss ability TO guide her into the best winds and most
tavOia currents. . =,
One OF the contingencies on which considerable
money is being staked is the number of days in which
the winning boat will make the trip Several pools OF
goody sumo have been made, in winch the con-
tribuors have marked slips OF paper without KNOW
ing the figure made by any oth"r contributor. an
estimate OF the duration OF the eoyago the one com,
np nearest the actual time, OF course, taking the
entire amount paid in. One OF these POOLS ~as made
at the Stock Exchange on Thursday there were
fourteen sun-cribcrs ut 500 each. The guesses
ranged from ten TO thirty days. The minimum ehd
maximum of these regarded IA somewhat Wild. but
in reality there is little basis Tor calculation every
thing Depending upon the weather. Precedents show
that the difference in time made Dy yachts in making
the passa c is fully wide as the range OF figures
made by the pool subscribers.
About the first Yacht to cross the Atlantic was Com
modore Ashbury's schooner LIvouil She came over
in September and was tN entyDine DAYS. three hours
and thirty minutes in coming from Cowes 10 Sandy
Hook. She was about the size OF the Dnunues',
measuring 10 feet y inches at the water line and
having a depth of feet Sig inches. She encountered
rough weather and hcadwinds and was hove TO for
46 hours when about halt way across, and for five
DAYS Captain j. X. Wood, her master, was unable to
make observations Her best run tor a single day was
237 miles and her poorest 80 miles.
In the ocean race of 1866 between James Gordon
Benefits Henrietta. George and Franklin Osgoods
Feetwing and Pierre Lorillard's Nesta Tor sweep
stakes OF $50 900, the Henrietta made the passage
from the Sandy Hook Lighship 10 the Needles at the
southwest point OF the Isle OF Wight in thirteen DAYS
twenty-onc hours and fiiy-fve minutes Her longest
DAYS run was $50 miles and the ,hortest % miles
The Flce,wng occupied fourteen days, six hours and
ten minutes making the voyage and the Nesta four
teen days. six hours and fifty ninutes The greatest
and least distances covered IN twenty-our hours by
tne former go and ls6 miles respectively, and
by the latter 277 and 1863 miles The Nesta over
t6irtytw days in making the return voyage IN May;
1867 being caught in succession OF hurricanes aud
rail Her log showed her longest day 10 be 20
miles aud her shortest ! 10 miles The quickest pas
sage- made were by the Dauntes- and Sappho IN May
and June, 1859 In the former month the Dauntrss
ga led from Sandy Hook TO Queenstown IN twelve
days. seventeen hours and six minutes and in June
the Sappho covered the distance between the same
points in twelve days. nine hours and tbiriyfix
IN nutes. When the Cambria and Dauntlcr- raced
from Cowes to Sandy Hook IN July OF the following
seven hour. The Cambria reached the finishing point
nearly two hours ahead and occup ed twcnty-three
days. five hours seventeen minutes ahd hteen seconds
in crossing
Those who foretell the weather inclined to The
belief that will not be much wlnd 1T sea as
tbe owners of the Coronct ana Dauntlss- hoped for
when they agreed upon the time for the and say
tha, there seem. TO be tlo prospect OF the yacht,
getting TO Queenstown in less than twenty days alter
the start.
THE SAVANNAH CLUES PLANS.
The Seawanhaka Corinthan Yacht Club expect to
occupy their city club house by May l. although
"a yet the building has not finally selected. The
Committee on Location have their eyes "a suitable
site aud will probably execute lease this week They
do not care to say exactly where II ia but state
that it is within the boundary formed by Twenty
sixth and Thirtieth SIS. ami Fifth and Madison
he house will contain besides the usual loungirg
places. library furnished with all ,ors OF books
nautical topics a1d model room. The upper noors
will be used bachelors quarters 70, members OF the
club. To meet The r1penscs OF installation IN its
house and to tide the first year the club decided
to issue bonds OF go each bearing per interest
and payable at the option III the club OF these
SI,12J has already been subscribed. One of the
features which win tend to awaken interest in
practical and theoretical yachting among the menu
bers will be OF lectures to be delivered next
winter by officers OF the Navy and experts in yacht
de gning and construction and navigation The sub
lects proposed 10 be treated In these lectures
Theory, method and practice OF draughting the lines
OF yachts the elements OF designs and the cacula
tons for their determination; relation functions aud
importance of these elcmcnts stabiit; its exact and
appro INNATE determination sparring and sail plans
rgL ing ana iron work sails and sailmaking; con.
strucon OF centre board and keel yachts OF wood iron
and steel composite; types OF yachts history and
DEVELOPMENT OF yachts and yachting; laws OF resist
Of lu de form and surface OF Yessels going
qualities OF cruising yachts; along shore on shore
navigation dead reckoning nautical astronomy:
construction, theory and Of instruments harbcrs
ana channels light houses aud lights ocean courses
marine geography and trade winds; and the law OF
storms.
In an extended and exhaustive report read at the
meeting of the club on February 20 the Committee
on Location limited at the dd, liability of forming
Naval Reserve from among the yachtsmen OF the
country which shonld have at cas: as much support
from tic State and Federal Government ma does tbe
State militia. "The whole subject of present and
national intrrest Of coast dcienccs, savs The
report "must, In the light of mo, ern experience be
regarded, not upon purely theoretical grc-nds but
from the point OF view which would BE- long Ia men of
liberal education who had made the subject of seaman
ship in its broadcast sense th,ir study The ex-
penditures upon navies and deenccs frequently in
an inverse ratio the definite and practical LoowI
edge possessed and in present ignurance no detail
IN too insignificant to assume an unexpected i'm.
portance Proficiency in seamanship among amateurs
deserves MS n knowledge, at least such rccoon-
ton as is bestowed on voluntary military training
Vbo oft of Com H.